We booked the Casablanca based on the reviews on here and the fact that it's in a central location for sight-seeing.

I have to say that we had a lovely stay here and would definitely recommend it to first timers in NYC.

It's literally a couple of steps away from the centre of Times Square - an unbelievable location in fact. It's not on the main street but a couple of doors down from Broadway itself. It's location can't be beaten as it's relatively quiet considering how loud and 'raucous' New York is.

From the moment you step in off the street you are greeted warmly by the guys on reception (who also act as concierge). We had particularly good experiences with a guy called Jeffrey I think - he was very helpful.

The hotel is small which is nice in such a big city. It offers a great choice of cereals, breads, cakes and fruit for breakfast in a pleasant and spacious public area on the 2nd floor.

When we checked in we were told we had been upgraded to a king room free of charge which was a nice touch. Our room was on the 5th floor overlooking the street and you could catch a glimpse of Times Square to the right.

The room was just the right size (not to small or too big) and the bathroom was very spacious. The only small gripe I had with the bathroom was that there was no counter area around the sink so nowhere to rest toiletries so you could get to them easily from the sink. There was shelving in the bathroom though so we used that - it's just easier to have a counter.

What I would say is that no matter where you stay in New York (unless you are on the top of a very tall building) I would recommend that you take earplugs (we carry them everywhere when traveling just in case) as noise is an issue. They say it's the city that never sleeps and it must be awful without earplugs! NYC is very loud, brash and crowded. The Casablanca is a low-level hotel - 6 storeys - so all rooms do experience road noise. Saying that, the street it is on is relatively quiet to others where it's just constant beeping of horns...usually taxis.

The Casablanca provides the perfect base for a stay in New York - within walking distance of most of the major attractions (Rockefeller Centre is a must for the views!).

I don't see how anyone can be disappointed staying here.

Stayed here for 3 nights end of May and couldn't have made a better choice. Lovely well kept rooms,reception staff excellent when helping you ie subways, diections etc.Great breakfasts, 24 hour refreshments and the complimentary wine 5 - 8 pm is a winner. When we return to NY we'll stay here.

After reviewing many hotels in NYC for a recent "girlfriends vacation" without the hubbies, we settled upon the Casablanca mostly due to the reviews on this web site. We were torn between this property and the Holiday Inn Express in Midtown Manhattan. The deal breaker was the afternoon 5-8 p.m. wine & cheese reception each day.

I can tell you that we made and EXCELLENT choice. The hotel room was not huge - we had a King-size bed that my girlfriend and I shared so we could "have our space" and not feel crowded. The room had standard hotel amenities. We had a burned out lightbulb in one of the nightstand lights and it was promptly changed out when we called the front desk (fixed within 10 minutes of the call).

The bathroom wasn't huge but it was comfortable and the pics on the Casablanca's web site are relatively accurate depiction of the room and bath we shared during our 5 day stay.

Despite the fact that the hotel is only 1/3 of a block off Times Square on 43rd Street, you'd never know Times Square was even in the vicinity once walking in the front door. The lobby is small just as the pics on the hotel's web site shows. The room we had was pleasantly appointed - similar to most Marriotts or Hiltons I've stayed at on business.

What set this hotel apart and will get me coming back to it (or one of the HK properties) is the continental breakfast AND the wine & cheese reception. The continental breakfast foods were tasty and high quality and fresh. The hotel also had a "fancy" coffee maker that would make a lovely cappuccino or latte if that was your fancy.

The wine & cheese reception was just lovely. Quality cheese and lovely crackers were quite nice. And the two wines - a red and a white - from the Cantalupi vineyards in Italy were quite pleasant. We had expected to find ourselves eating our way through NYC and we actually found that between the walking we did (lots and lots of it) and eating a late continental breakfast and a late lunch, that all we had room for at the end of the day was the lovely wine & cheese reception.

The hotel staff was courteous and very helpful. One of the gentlemen at the door, of Albanian descent, was especially helpful to us. I hope some day he chooses to have kids as he'd be a great father.

The Casablanca made our stay in NYC just a wonderful experience. Whilst we spent much of our day out and about in the city, the Casablanca was our refuge at the end of the day, a gentle, quiet, relaxing place in a busy city.

The hotel exceeded our expectations and we'd gladly stay again at this wonderful abode.

The Casablanca Hotel is indeed a gem near Times Square - well-trained, courteous staff met us at our cab, checked us in early, and saw us to one of the small doubles (with an entry hall, bedroom and bath, all well-equipped). We paid $269 and this included a good continental breakfast (cereals, pastries, fresh fruit, juice), an excellent coffee machine which produced cappucinos, lattes, espressos (caf and decaf) 24/7, a 5-8pm reception in the same spacious cafe (even three outdoor tables in the courtyard) with wine, cheese and crackers; a computer was also available in this room as were several copies of daily newspapers. A friend came to see us one evening at the hotel and he too was welcomed to the wine and cheese reception.
An excellent experience!